Ghostbusters: Afterlife Sequel Gets December 2023 Release Date

Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 release date is out. On Tuesday, Sony Pictures announced that the sequel to the 2021 supernatural comedy Ghostbusters: Afterlife will debut December 20, 2023 in cinemas worldwide. A tweet read: “We're back December 2023. @Ghostbusters”. The yet-to-be-titled sequel, like its predecessor, will be directed by Jason Reitman, off a script written by him and Gil Kenan. While there's no word of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 cast, the likes of Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon are expected to reprise their roles from the first part.

The same, however, can't be said about Bill Murray, as Searchlight Pictures recently stopped production on his latest movie — the Aziz Ansari-led comedy drama Being Mortal — after receiving complaints about the veteran actor's behaviour.

Ghostbusters Afterlife Review: A Less Fun Stranger Things, by Way of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

While not a lot is known about the sequel's story, Reitman had earlier told The Hollywood Reporter that Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 will start off where its predecessor ended: “At the end of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Ecto-1 is driving into Manhattan, returning to its home. And before anyone ever heard the title Afterlife, we called it Rust City. Which would not have made sense to anyone until they saw the movie. The code name for the next movie is Firehouse.”

When it debuted in cinemas in November 2021, Ghostbusters: Afterlife grossed nearly $200 million (about Rs. 1,580 crore) at the global box office to emerge as a commercial success despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The critical response, however, was mixed — in line with our review. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: “Ghostbusters: Afterlife crosses the streams between franchise revival and exercise in nostalgia -- and this time around, the bustin' mostly feels good.”

The late Ivan Reitman — Jason is his son — who had directed and produced 1984's Ghostbusters movie and its 1989 sequel Ghostbusters II, served as a producer on Ghostbusters: Afterlife. He had also served as a producer on its 2016 maligned reboot, headlined by Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. Ivan died in February 2022. Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 — also Ghostbusters 5 — was officially announced back in April.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 is set to release December 20, 2023 in cinemas worldwide.